French politician on ‘shameful’ Trump administration and true meaning behind the Statue of Liberty
Tom Lawrence and I want to share this commentary by European Parliament member Raphael Glucksmann. It is a widely republished recent post on X, made after the The White House responded to Glucksmann’s earlier remark that, based on President Trump’s rhetoric and policies, the United States should return the Statue of Liberty to France.
The White House’s sarcastic response, without directly addressing the contents of Glucksmann’s commentary, was that France should be grateful to Americans because without our involvement in World War II, the French would now be speaking German. Tom and I, both history buffs, believe that Glucksmann’s response adds clarity and context to the conversation, but that he missed a chance to expand the historical record by not reminding the White House that without the strong support of France during the Revolutionary War, the United States might still be a British colony.
Instead of building on our long history of mutual support with France, the White House trashed it.
More broadly, I find this dialogue to be a disturbing consequence of the deteriorating relations between the Trump administration and some of our lifelong allies in Europe. The United States is on a course of abandoning skillful diplomacy and realistic approaches to maintaining a jointly beneficial economic and cultural relationship. Trump’s assertion that the European Union was formed for the “sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States” is wrong. The EU was formed in the aftermath of World War II as an endeavor to wipe out the longstanding hostilities that existed among Europeans for centuries.
American and European economic growth have steadily risen ever since. Glucksmann’s piece is a reflection of the dismay that Europeans are experiencing since Trump has made hostility toward them a centerpiece of his foreign policy.
From Raphel Glucksmann, a French citizen and member of the European parliament:
Since the White House press secretary is attacking me today, I wanted to tell you this:
Our two people are intimately linked by History, the blood we shed and the passion for freedom we share, a passion symbolized by this Statue that was offered to the United States by France to honor your glorious Revolution.
As the press secretary for this shameful administration said: without your nation, France would have “spoken German.” In my case, it goes further: I would simply not be here if hundreds of thousands of young Americans had not landed on our beaches in Normandy.
Our gratitude to these heroes and their sacrifices is therefore eternal.
But the America of these heroes fought against tyrants, it did not flatter them. It was the enemy of fascism, not the friend of Putin. It helped the resistance and didn't attack Zelensky.
It celebrated science and didn't fire researchers for using banned words. It welcomed the persecuted and didn't target them.
It was far, so far from what your current president does, says, and embodies.
This America, faithful to the wonderful words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, your America, is worth so much more than the betrayal of Ukraine and Europe, xenophobia, or obscurantism.
We all in Europe love this nation to which we know we owe so much. It will rise again. You will rise again. We are counting on you.
And it is precisely because I am petrified by Trump’s betrayal that I said yesterday in a rally that we could symbolically take back the Statue of Liberty if your government despised everything it symbolizes in your eyes, ours, and those of the world.
It was a wake-up call.
No one, of course, will come and steal the Statue of Liberty.
The statue is yours. But what it embodies belongs to everyone.
And if the free world no longer interests your government, then we will take up the torch, here in Europe.
Until we meet again in the fight for freedom and dignity, we will be the continuators of our shared history and the protectors of our treasure: more than a statue of copper and steel, the freedom it symbolizes. – Ralph Glucksmann
John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills. He was a weekly columnist for the Rapid City Journal for 20 years. His articles and commentary have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post and The Omaha World-Herald. Tsitrian served in the Marines for three years (1966-69), including a 13-month tour of duty as a radioman in Vietnam. Republish with permission.
Photo: Public domain, wikimedia commons
